Leave plenty of time to check your essential documents, in case you need to renew your passports, or send away for any other documentation.
Passports - requirements can vary by country. For most of the EU your passport must be: less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’) AND valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’). Check both the issue date and the expiry date in your passport. If you renewed your passport early, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. This could affect the requirement for your passport to be less than 10 years old. You can check if you need to renew your passport here.
Driving Licence - If you hold a UK driving licence, then you may need to obtain an international driving permit to drive in the EU if you have either:
- A paper driving licence
- A licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man
Contact the embassy of the country you’re visiting to check what documents you’ll need.
Green card - if you are taking you car on holiday and it is registered or insured in the UK, you’ll need to do ask your insurer for a green card as proof of insurance. Your insurer might issue your green card by post, or they may tell you how to download one to print at home. Request your green card at least six weeks in advance to make sure it arrives in plenty of time. Make sure you take it with you.
Holders of valid European driving licenses can drive on public roads across the EU. For more information about driving abroad see here.